Health, well‐being, and social support in older Australian lesbian and gay care‐givers

Abstract

Informal care‐givers play an important role in society, and many of the people who provide this care are lesbian women and gay men. Being a care‐giver is known to be associated with poorer health and well‐being, and lesbian and gay care‐givers report experiences of stigma and discrimination in the care‐giving context. This study involved a survey of 230 lesbian women and 503 gay men aged 60 years and over living in Australia, of which 218 were care‐givers. We compared care‐givers to non‐caregivers on a range of health and well‐being measures, including psychological distress, positive mental health, physical health and social support. While we found no significant differences between these two groups, we further compared care‐givers who were caring for an LGBTI person to those who were caring for a non‐LGBTI person. Among the lesbian women, care‐givers of an LGBTI person reported feeling less supported in their carer role and reported lower levels of social support more generally. They were also lower on positive mental health and physical health indicators. Among the gay men, care‐givers of an LGBTI person also reported feeling less supported in their carer role, but there were no differences in reported levels of social support more generally or health and well‐being compared to those caring for a non‐LGBTI person. Overall, results from this study suggest that older lesbian and gay care‐givers may be facing some challenges related to their well‐being and feeling supported, especially if they are caring for another LGBTI person.

Older lesbian and gay adults’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to accessing health and aged care services in Australia

“…Previous research in Australia on concerns about accessing ageing and health care services has found that lesbian women were more concerned about services not recognising same‐sex relationships than were gay men (Hughes, 2009). Studies have further found that women in general tend to access health services more often than men (Mukhtar et al., 2018) and research in Australia shows that older lesbian women are more likely to be caregivers than older gay men (Alba et al, 2020), all of which may result in additional contact with services. It is therefore possible that some gender differences were related to women having greater experience of services and therefore being more aware of challenges posed by issues related to inclusiveness, as well as greater awareness of what services are available.…”

Identity resilience, social support and internalised homonegativity in gay men

“…Sample items are: 'When I need suggestions on how to deal with a personal problem, I know someone I can turn to' and 'I don't often get invited to do things with others'. In an Australian study of gay and lesbian people (Alba et al, 2020), scale score reliability was excellent (α = 0.90). Possible scores ranged from 12 to 48.…”

A Framework for Enhancing Access to Equitable Home Care for 2SLGBTQ+ Communities

“…For example, Grigorovich [ 35 , 36 ] explores quality of care related to service provider knowledge of, and comfort with, sexual diversity and the decision-making processes related to disclosure of older lesbian and bisexual women during interactions with home care service providers, citing experiences of overt and subtle heterosexism and discrimination. References to home care in 2SLGBTQ+ health-related literature have often been anecdotal and/or represent the perspectives and insights of service providers rather than sexual and gender minority people themselves [ 31 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ].…”